6.09.2014

Dallas bar accused of racist business practices

Former employee says she was instructed to turn away customers who "sounded ghetto or too Asian."

In Dallas, an uptown bar is facing allegations of racist business practices, as some minority customers say they were denied entry based on a dress code, while white customers weren't held to the same standard. And according to a former employee, she was instructed to screen potential customers based on their ethnicity.

Stephanie Guidry, a former employee at the Kung Fu Saloon (yeah, seriously, epic eyeroll), says that she was told by managers to discern over the phone -- based on perceived accents -- whether customers attempting to make reservations "sounded ghetto or too Asian." If so, she was supposed to say the bar was booked.

Guidry was an event coordinator at the bar from September of 2012 to January of 2013. She said managers told employees to screen customers, not only when people came to the bar in person, but over the phone.

"I would have to call them up on the phone and speak to them on the phone," she said. "And listen to their accent -- listen to see if they sounded ghetto or too Asian."

"Ghetto," she said, was a code word for black. In those instances, she was supposed to say the bar was booked.

And if she didn’t, "There were comments made to me, like, 'Why is it so dark in here? Why is it so Asian in here? Did you not screen these phone calls?'"

Guidry says she was terminated over what she were false claims shortly after she booked a party for Asian friends. Kung Fu Saloon apparently doesn't want things to get too kung fu up in there.

Kung Fu Saloon became the target of a social media campaign last month after a black customer said he was told he violated unposted dress codes while wearing the same attire as white customers who were allowed in. Dozens of other minority customers came forward with claims of similar treatment.

That's racist. But folks, in my opinion, you're better off avoiding a place that calls itself "Kung Fu Saloon."